If you are an atheist, agnostic, non-Christian believer, an apathetic not-give-a-damner, or even a loosely-identifying Christian, mouthing the words of prayers and hymns during Remembrance Day is utterly phoney.

The Commonwealth needs to sh*t or get off the pot. Either do something that will make a difference to the ABC's perpetual propaganda, or spend your time somewhere else. Pretending to act may be this government's core competency everywhere except within 100km of Christmas Island, but all it does is piss away political capital for no benefit.

In the interests of transparency, Councils should be held in a restaurant with a lounge attached (and perhaps a back room or two). That way the real business of boozing, gladhanding, number crunching and building ever closer relations with party members of the appropriate sex could occur without the distraction of meeting procedure.

Face it. Joining any political party is like choosing between starvation and eating rotten meat. You make the necessary choice, but that doesn't remove the smell or the lingering bad taste in your mouth.
It's the price you pay for engaging beyond hashtags and well-applauded snide remarks at gatherings of humanities graduates.

There is no basis for claiming government must actually deliver services - only that it ensures they are delivered. The IPART review due in September is a great chance to address long term public sector delivery problems. If only BOF has the guts to sell and then execute the review findings.

Professor David Flint can dish out the personal attack, the misquote and the illogical inference, but the Editors at Quadrant don't seem to think he can take being called out on it. That Quadrant backed off from a debate when one of their favourite sons was looking sickly is unforgivable.

Confirming your opponent’s narrative is about the worst thing a political communicator can do. So yesterday’s Honours List announcement was the single worst piece of political communication for a generation, surpassing even the infamous Latham-Howard handshake in 2004.